The future of a controversial affordable housing project in East Towson again hangs in the balance.
Baltimore County is considering giving the developer of Red Maple Place an additional $2 million loan.
The proposed loan would be in addition to a $2.1 million loan the county approved in 2019.
However, the county council will need to approve the additional loan and it is unclear what might happen to the project if the council votes it down.
The project is in Council Chairman Mike Ertel’s district. Ertel, a Democrat, has been a vocal critic of Red Maple.
“I feel like this is already an expensive project,” Ertel said. “It’s about $450,000 per unit to build this thing.”
Republican Councilman David Marks used to represent East Towson before councilmanic lines were redrawn for the 2022 election. Marks said he doesn’t believe the loan will be approved by the council.
“This whole issue is a textbook case of how not to proceed with a development,” Marks said. “They were urged to have a smaller project many years ago, to work with the community and instead they have fought many of us at every turn.”
In a letter to the county council, Housing Director Terry Hickey said the developer, Homes for America, needs the money because years of legal challenges delayed the project. During that time interest rates went up, as did construction, engineering and insurance costs.
The letter started a seven-day clock. If the council had not objected, then Hickey could have provided the loan to Homes for America.
However, Ertel did object and the council now plans to discuss it at its July 1 meeting. It then may vote on it July 7.
Dana Johnson, the President and CEO of Homes for America, declined to comment.
The controversy over Red Maple has unfolded since 2018.
The proposed location of the 56-unit, four-story apartment building adjoins East Towson, an historic Black community. Some of the residents are descendants of slaves who labored at Hampton Plantation.
Residents of the neighborhood objected to the affordable housing project. They have described it as a “big brick beast” that would destroy their community.
County Executive Kathy Klausmeier supports the project, as did her predecessor, Johnny Olszewski.
In 2016, Baltimore County entered into a Voluntary Compliance Agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to settle complaints that the county had violated the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Under the agreement, Baltimore County is required to create 1,000 affordable housing units by March of 2028. The county is counting on the Red Maple units to help it meet that goal. It currently has 908 approved units, including the ones in Red Maple.
In a statement, Klausmeier said, “Red Maple Place has successfully passed each stage of Baltimore County’s multi-pronged development process, and after visiting the site, meeting with the developer and touring a similar project, I support the advancement of this project.”
State Sen. Mary Washington, a Democrat who represents East Towson, would like to see the council vote down the proposed additional loan. She said since the council signed off on the initial loan in 2019, there is more known about the property.
It contains the headwaters of a branch of Herring Run as well as wetlands.
Washington said it’s a flood plain area and would worsen stormwater runoff.
“The council did not have any of this information in 2019 when the development was originally approved,” Washington said.
